Shutout A Sign Of Confidence From Lindbergh

On the front of the Philadelphia Flyers' 1985-86 Official Yearbook is Donn Rodman Hettl's illustration of Pelle Lindbergh and the Vezina Trophy.

It's no wonder Flyers' management picked the 26-year-old Swedish goaltender to adorn the booklet. Neither captain Dave Poulin nor high-scoring nor plus-minus leader Brad McCrimmon meant so much to the team last season.

Without the bestgoalie in the National Hockey League (to whom the Vezina Trophy is awarded), the Flyers would have crumbled long before their decisive loss to Edmonton in the fifth game of the Stanley Cup finals.

Maybe it was no coincidence that Lindbergh was sidelined in that final game with a bruised right knee. Some, including former Boston and Colorado coach Don Cherry, have been quoted as saying Pelle jumped ship before his club sank.

Cherry, of course, is known for his dislike of European players. Even before last year's playoffs began, he said Philadelphia would go nowhere with a Swede in goal.

He was wrong in one case. How about the other?

Asked recently if missing the final game had been frustrating, Lindbergh said, "Na. Of course, I played all year and wanted to play in the final.

"I think it would have been even tougher if we had been up 3-1 and couldn't have played the last game. We were down 3-1 up there. It would have been tougher had it been 3-3 or something."

So with this possible smoke surrounding the club, Lindbergh spent the summer at his home in Stockholm rehabilitating his knee. And when he returned to Philadelphia, he lost two of his first three starts - both in the Spectrum, where the Flyers lost just four times last regular season.

Word was out that Pelle had lost his sharpness.

"The only difference was that it was a lot shorter summer, and I had some problems with my knee," Lindbergh said. "I didn't work out for the first 1 1/2 months. Maybe I was a little bit behind, but not much.

"I've been feeling pretty good. But maybe after a year like last year, you get the feeling everything is going to be easy. Maybe you get a little lazier."

No one can be lazy while correctly rehabilitating a knee. That, Lindbergh certainly found.

"The doctor said to just rest for six weeks, that it would heal by itself," Lindbergh said. "Then I went to a Pat Croce guy (physical therapist) in Sweden for three to four days a week. He worked me pretty hard."

But the questions continued when goalie Bob Froese arrived healthy at training camp and Coach Mike Keenan announced he would split goaltending chores between the pair.

And after Lindbergh had a 1-2 start, Keenan elected to use Froese in both games last weekend. With Froese moving his record to 3-0, Lindbergh could have been worried.

"I wasn't wondering, really, when Froese played both games last weekend," Lindbergh said. "I'd played three games and he (Keenan) said he was going to split for a while. Froese has only played one before that, so that made it 3-3.

"Of course, I wanted to play. but whatever the coach do, I believe in."

And when Keenan started Lindbergh Thursday against Hartford, he made everyone believers. For Pelle stopped 24 shots while earning his first shutout since the 3-0 decision over Quebec last May 16 that sent the Flyers to the Cup finals.

"Pelle looked like he had that game sharpness back that he had last year and he particularly challenged the shooters well," Keenan said. "It's a sign of confidence from Pelle and a sign that he's in control.

"His start had a little bit to do with the success last year. It's human nature. You expect things to come easy to you once you've felt that level of success. You sometimes forget over a period of time how you acquired that success.

"It was a little bit more difficult for Pelle to get back into the groove than the previous year when he didn't have the success to look back on."

So Keenan thinks the answer is work. And more work.

"We've given him a great deal of work in practice," Keenan said. " We've been working both goalies extremely hard,trying to keep them sharp. They've had a balance of work to this date. In doing so, we must make sure both get work in practice."

So, Pelle is feeling well again. His goals-against average is dropping toward the 3.02 he had last season, when he didn't have his first of six shutouts until Nov. 9.

"I felt good tonight and against Washington (Oct. 13), when we won there. There were more tough shots in Washington," Lindbergh said. "I'm especially happy with the way I've played around the net. We've been working so much with (Assistant Coach) E.J. McGuire every practice. I feel more confidence."